When vehicles and other such structures are manufactured, the separate frames or even integral frames, as in unibody design, are assembled in large jigs with various fixtures or studs extending outwardly from appropriate places on the jig to accommodate various frame members. These frame members have holes or apertures, called fixture holes, which properly position the frame part onto the fixture studs of the jig. These parts, once positioned, are connected by other frame members, panels and the like and the vehicle or other such structure is constructed accordingly, using these fixture holes as reference points.
When the article so constructed is subsequently damaged, as in the case of a vehicle involved in a mishap, reference should again be made to the various fixture holes for precise positioning of parts and to use these fixture holes as reference points to determine the extent of the damage. Arrangements for making these determinations are becoming known in the art, one particularly successful type being disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,945 and assigned to the assignee of the instant application. The system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,945 utilizes spaced measurement scale carrier bars which respectively have sighting instruments, such as laser sighting instruments, and targets mounted on ends of the bars and which are connected to the vehicle by connectors attached at the fixture holes. Clearly, the more precise that measurements can be made of the extent of the damage, the more precise can be the repair and to that end, the measurement scale carrier bars must be precisely positioned with respect to the fixture holes. Heretofore, one means of connection employed L-shaped hangers and the L-shaped arm was inserted into the fixture hole. Another connector device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,945 consisted of an arm arrangement spread open and closed by a thumb screw extending between the upper arms. This latter arrangement more precisely centered the connector with respect to the fixture hole, but in none of the prior arrangements did the connector provide for adjustment of the distance from the fixture hole to the measurement scale carrier bar. In certain circumstances, adjustment of this distance is desired.
The present invention provides such a connector device which centers and precisely positions a connector with respect to the fixture hole and which is adjustable in length to precisely select the distance from the fixture hole to the vehicle measuring system.